Malfunctioning Parking Payment Machines at Cancún Airport Anger Travelers

Cancún, Quintana Roo — Travelers using the Terminal 2 parking lot at Cancún International Airport are complaining that malfunctioning payment machines are causing delays and leaving them without the correct change.

Only two of the four payment kiosks are working, according to users, and one of those is not returning change. The Hernández family, who had dropped off relatives for a flight to Mexico City, said they put a 500-peso bill into a machine to pay a 50-peso fee for 20 minutes of parking, but the machine did not return the change.

“Parking is expensive, and the machines fail on top of it,” one member of the family said.

Another driver, Jorge Estrella, said the machine rejected his 200-peso bill several times when he tried to pay a 172-peso charge, forcing him to use an intercom to ask for help. “It’s a waste of time when equipment like this fails,” he said.

The company operating the parking lot has acknowledged that equipment failures are “routine,” a response that travelers called unacceptable at an international terminal. The machines also reject coins and bills and sometimes fail to print receipts, according to users.

Passengers, drivers and tourists interviewed at the airport said the problems follow a pattern of high prices and poor service, pointing to flight delays, public transport fares and outdated equipment as part of the same issue. Travelers say the airport charges first-world prices while providing third-rate service.

Cancún International Airport collected more than 12 billion pesos from the airport usage fee (TUA) in the first seven months of the year, before revenue from other services and concessions.